Craigslist Pimps Out

The New York Timesreported several days ago that Craigslist has
tripled – to $36 million – revenue it receives annually from advertising for
“adult” or “erotic” services. Advertising
for sexual services now accounts for one-third of Craigslist’s revenue.

Craigslist prohibits “ads suggesting or implying an exchange
of sexual favors for money.” Craigslist also prohibits “ads including
pornographic images, or images suggestive of an offer of sexual favor.” Lest
any prostitute – or her “business manager” – believe Craigslist will not
fiercely enforce these prohibitions, the website requires anyone purchasing an
ad for adult services ($10 for one week, $5 to renew) to click a button
signifying that they understand these prohibitions and will abide by them.

And so we must assume that the “gorgeous
Latina“ (with nearly exposed nipples), the “Thai
Massage by Thai Boy“ (with exposed nipples), the “sweet and busty flower“ (once more with the
nipples). and “Asian
Barbie“ in town “for a few days” (thankfully, no exposed nipples)
pay Craigslist for adult services ads that have nothing to do with
prostitution, or pornography, or fetishes involving children or ethnic fantasies.

Nonetheless, we wanted to ask. By accepting money for these
advertisements, is there even the slightest possibility that Craigslist is
gaining financially from prostitution and pornography, including – possibly –
human trafficking, sexual enslavement, and the abuse and exploitation of
children?

So ask we did, and apparently, no such possibility exists.
Lest anyone doubt Craigslist’s bold resolve, the website declares – on a yellow background! – and in large
letters! – “Human trafficking and exploitation of minors are not tolerated –
any suspected activity will be reported to law enforcement.”

Case closed. And yet, and yet….

Running the Numbers

Craigslist makes money by selling advertisements for sexual
services on all of its websites. Craigslist also makes money by selling
advertisements for job openings in 18 US cities. Analysis of sexual services
advertisements and job advertisements in 40 of the cities and regions with
Craigslist websites confirm that a high percentage of Craigslist revenue may
come from sexual services advertising.

As of today, the 18 cities where Craigslist charges for job
postings list approximately 200,400 job advertisements. Let’s assume these job
listings amount to one month of revenue for this portion of the Craigslist
business – roughly $6.6 million. As one might expect, the cities with the most
job advertisements on Craigslist are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Boston, Washington, DC, Seattle, and Chicago.

Now let’s examine the revenue derived by Craigslist from
sexual services advertising. The 40 cities and regions included in the analysis
encompass only a small portion of the 700 cities and regions for which
Craigslist has built classified advertising websites.

In the United States, websites for the remaining 35 cities
post a total of 71,700 adult services advertisements, compared to 318,700 job
advertisements. Let’s assume that advertisers paid once (for one week) and then
renewed three times (for three additional weeks) — and that the advertisements
posted represented one month of revenue. On this basis, Craigslist
generated $1.8 million in revenue in the most recent month from its sexual
services ads in these cities. If these figures are accurate, adult services
revenue represents at least 22 percent of Craigslist’s total monthly revenue.
These numbers leave out the other 660 locations where Craigslist publishes
advertising.

Creeped Out in Canada

The story gets creepier when one breaks down the advertising
totals by city. Two-thirds of the sexual services advertisements in our sample
of 40 cities are published on the Craigslist websites for the five cities
outside the United States, specifically Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, London,
and Hong Kong. Craigslist does not charge for sexual services ads outside of
the United States. Perhaps for this reason, only 20 percent of Craigslist ads
in the United States with the potential for revenue generation are in the
sexual services section (this is a conservative number, because we can only
view ads posted in the last 7 days). In Canada, and London, however, 80 percent
of the ads are in the sexual services section.

With nearly 77,000 sexual services advertisements – a larger
number than in all of the 35 US cities we reviewed, the numbers for Toronto
alone are particularly horrific. Canada is a country with a significant history
of commercial trafficking of girls and women – primarily from Asia – for
purposes of sexual exploitation. Nearly 10 years ago, the value of foreign
trafficking for prostitution in Canada exceeded
$400 million.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police estimates
that 800-1,200 persons annually are victims of human trafficking in Canada,
with other estimates as high as 15,000. In 2006, The Future Group published astudy on the treatment of human trafficking
victims. The report stated that “Canada’s record of dealing with trafficking
victims is an international embarrassment.”

Prostitution is sex for money, not love. When it comes to
sexual commerce, Craigslist cannot have it both ways. Craigslist cannot be “relatively
non-commercial”. Craigslist must choose whether it stands for money or for
love.

Craigslist says it opposes illegal prostitution, human
trafficking, and sexual exploitation of children. However, a substantial and
growing part of its business depends upon advertisements for sexual services
that almost certainly include prostitution, and may well sometimes involve human
trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. While it may not charge for
erotic services advertisements in other nations, it provides an iconic platform
for their dissemination.

Craigslist says it reviews sexual advertisements. However,
with thousands of these ads pouring into their servers every day, it is
reasonable to wonder who really is examining them. It would be good to know
whether there is any advertisement – except one explicitly inviting the reader
to have sex with a
child or a slave – that Craigslist would not accept.